Birthready ▶ Doula Support ▶ Labour Support Packages

DOULA / LABOUR SUPPORT PACKAGES

Labour support packages

Our time together will enable a trusting partnership to develop, so you will have the support to navigate your birthing journey more confidently. Alongside the doula role you can have your own personal childbirth educator, life coach or other complementary skills from your doula.  After an initial discussion over the phone, via skype or as a free meet n greet, we can tailor a package to meet your needs.

All packages will include:

• 24/7 phone support during pregnancy and first 6 weeks post natal
• Being ‘on call’ from 2 weeks before you due date until birth
• Attendance at your birth (home, Hospital or other location)
• A professional back up doula service
• Birthready guided meditations by Erika Munton
• Access to a resource library of books and DVD’s, birthing chair, physio ball and more

Explore Birthready Labour Support Packages

Package 3 – Whole Health

• 5 prenatal visits, birth attendance and 3 postnatal visits

• This is a comprehensive transition into parenthood program, building on from the other packages.

• 5 prenatal sessions include:  1. Know your options and develop helpful life and birth skills. 2. Mindful birthing program.  3. Active birth preparation (labour rehearsal).  4. Birth mapping and decision-making. 5. Parenting preparation and healthy relationships. 

• 3 Postnatally your visits include a birth debrief and newborn family care, emotional wellbeing, parenting support and education, nurture healthy relationship dynamics for trust, teamwork and intimacy.   Life coaching.  Closing the bones ritual. 

• Receive the Birthready workbook and Mindful birthing resource folder, 5 guided meditations, scripts, partner exercises, and other resources.

Package 2 – Extra Care

• 3 prenatal visits,  birth attendance and 1 postnatal visit.  

• Adding on from the basic package, this gives you more consistent support over time.

• 3 prenatal sessions include:  Working through my birth preparation check list essentials and develop helpful life and birth skills.  Practice birth skills in mindfulness and  embodiment, communicaiton, relaxation and breathing techniques for easier birthing.  Prepare your birth plan and team.  Processs fears and concerns that arise along the way. See outline of visits below.

• Postnatally your visit includes a birth debrief and newborn family care

Package 1 – Basic Care

    • 1x 2hr prenatal visit (or 2 x 1hr visits) and birth attendance.
    • Get to know your birth support team and develop your birth plan.

During Covid-19 restrictions – Doula package for labour at home only

$200 for Doula booking fee – Securing your place in my calendar.
$100 call out fee to attend you in labour at home.
$50/hr of birth attendance thereafter in person at your home, or via phone once in the hospital. (Min 3 hrs)
All other support, education or counselling services are added as designed by you.  

Download my full services and fees information

Keen to chat and explore further options?

Call Erika today on 0407 685 933

Hear Erika share her wisdom on mindful birthing.

 

Sexylove Project Podcast with Caitlyn Cook

Feat. Erika Munton

What comes to mind when you think of birth? Is it possible to have great birth experiences? How?! With birth educator, doula, life coach and counsellor Erika Munton we explore cultural stories and myths about birthing, talk about what supports great birthing experiences in a practical and grounded way, hear realistic expectations for birth and find out about things like ecstatic birth. And as relationships and birthing experiences can take all shapes and colours, this episode is gender-inclusive and supportive to people who have all kinds of birth experiences.

Outline of Visits

These are flexible in the content covered and are always adjusted to meet your needs.  We aim to cover:

1st visit: Preparing for birth in every day life

• Discuss your goals and where you are now

• Explore your options and the next steps you may take

• Debriefing prior birth experience/s

• Going through a labour and birth preparation check list – covering:

• Making an informed decision

• Learning about the different models of care

• Preparing your mind, body and intimate relationships.

• Creating the best birth environment possible

2nd visit:  Know your options and make a plan

• Developing and defining your emotional, physcial and practical  birth plan / intentions.

• Exploring further your understanding of possible medical interventions you may face and how to communicate about them.

• Understanding everyone’s roles and responsibilities within the birth team.

• Processing fears or concerns.

3rd visit:  Birth skills and review

• Learning/reviewing relaxation, pain relief and active birth techniques and optimal foetal positioning

• Final check in with partner about their support in labour.

• Reviewing stages of labour and birth and when to call your doula.

• Have a final check in of your preparation and birth plan.

Extra areas of birth preparation we can include are:

• Learn mindfulness with calm birth / hypnosis techniques – Guided meditation and workbook included – to help release fears and tension, increase calm and focus, to solve problems challenges and envision your best birthing experience.

• Sex, love and intimacy – for a healthy partner relationship.  Check in and tune up your relatinship to be birth and baby ready.  

• Birth skills – Active hands on bodywork to learn how to making space in your pelvis for your baby during pregnancy and in labour.  One on one with Erika to learn techniques for you (and your partner) to practice together.

• BAC (Birthing After a Caesarean) information, education and support.

• Parenting preparation – Learn how to care for your baby and prepare for life as a parent.

• One on one life coaching sessions to help create positive change where you most want it.

Postnatally:

• Debrief your birth experience.  Celebrate your acheivement.  Feel emotionally nurtured and supported.  Get your immediate needs met.

• Post natal doula support – home help with your newborn baby and newborn mother/father care.

• Discussing and problem solving challenges with your baby about feeding, settling, sleeping and crying.

• Healthy partner relationship – Check in / tune up to strengthen the bonds of love, intimacy, communication, care and practical support

• Getting support to adapt to a new lifestyle and personal identity

• Returning to work and exploring your career options.

• Planning for another baby.

Back up Doulas:

You can be reassured that you will have a skilled and supportive Birthready back up doula be a part of your birth support team.  I am a part of the Melbourne Doula Collective – 4 doulas who have worked together for several years. You may choose who this is, or I can recommend someone, or you can arrange this for yourself.

The Birthready Mailing List

Sign up and receive Birthready services and fees, event info, latest news, updates and more.

Birth Stories

Welcome Kiddo – a powerful birth by induction

(Written by the birthing mother) Part One: Waiting Thursday 19 July 2018 It’s the middle of winter, and now four days past my due date. The cat is underneath the doona, curled up next to my huge swollen belly, purring as I feel that swooshing live fish flop of the...

Reflections of doula support

Reflections on a couples journey from pregnancy to parenting. ***** 1. What are you proud of with regards to your birth preparation and birth experience? I’m proud of myself for taking the initiative to do the work for a natural birth. I had not even considered that...

A dads birth story, shared from the heart

Discussing, understanding and documenting what sort of birth Jess and I wanted was critical in helping me prepare for potential unknowns. Imagining the birth process from start to finish also helped- and actually practicing things like active birth exercises in our...

Birthing with bi-polar and epilepsy

Dear Erika, At the beginning of 2009 we spoke to my psychiatrist about the possibility of me having a child. After he outlined all the complications due to my bi-polar, epilepsy and medications I had as good as accepted I’d never be a mother. When I discovered in...

An empowering induction birth

Erika was called and arrived at a critical point; Alex and her support team were exhausted and the institution was starting to move closer and closer to taking complete control of the birth. After months of research and excited planning for the complete unknown of the...

The internal journey of a long labour

The birth of Marlene After a long labour Marlene was born naturally at 1.45am on the 7th of March at Angliss Family Birth Centre, Upper Ferntree Gully. I was surrounded by a magnificent birthing team that supported me throughout the labour, which comprised of my...

Homebirth after a caesarean

I gave birth to our little boy at home, with no interventions, no drugs, no stress. I laboured the way that felt right for me, and birthed in the position that came naturally. My husband caught his own son, and it is an experience that we will never forget in a...

Two births – a marathon and a sprint

My contractions were getting stronger. Erika rang the hospital and then drove me in her car. I chose the back seat. About half way to the hospital my waters broke (fortunately I was sitting on a towel). When I told her, Erika said just what I needed to hear: that’s...

Proactive birth preparation with hypnosis

I'm so proud of the steps we took, including hiring our wonderful doula Erika, and the preparation we put in which helped create the most intense, incredible, memorable, rewarding and magical 24 hours of our lives. Our Birth Story Going into this, we didn't even know...

A great home birth experience

Effie - "When I found out I was pregnant, my biggest fear was having to go into hospital to give birth. Hospitals gave me fierce anxiety as my pastexperiences of them had always been negative. I wasn'tconvinced that hospital was my only option, so I took to Dr Google...

Creative childbirth education with a toddler

“Erika helped prepare us for the birth of our son in a very short period of time, and with our 3 year old ‘helping out’ with costumes too!! This delightful couple were happy to have their daughter join in on some birth preparations massage techniques I was showing the...

Miranda’s vaginal birth after a caesarean

Not only were Erika's teachings and advice a useful tool during labour and birth, I was able to apply a lot of them to my life in general (as well as the relationship with my husband and son), and it allowed me to enjoy my little family and appreciate what I had all...